No timeframe for US pull back from Afghanistan: Panetta

Pentagon chief Leon Panetta said Friday it was too early to say when US forces might pull back from combat operations in Afghanistan after the US Marine Corps commander suggested the move might come within a year for his forces.Panetta, speaking during a visit to Canada, said the United States and its allies were working to eventually hand over combat duties to Afghan forces but there was no deadline for the transfer.The Pentagon chief was asked about comments from the commandant of the US Marine Corps, General James Amos, who said in an interview that he expected Marines in the southern Helmand province to shift in coming months from fighting insurgents to training and advising Afghan forces.The roughly 20,000 Marines deployed in Helmand are working really hard to bolster local governments and security forces there, the general said.The generals comments follow signals from the Pentagon that commanders are looking at a change in strategy that would mean taking a supporting role as soon as next year, which could possibly pave the way for a faster drawdown of US troops.Such a change would allow more time for coalition troops to build up the Afghan forces and provide help when things go wrong, officials say.Under current plans endorsed by NATO, the US-led force is due to hand over security for the whole country by the end of 2014, though US officials have hinted at a possible smaller, follow-on force.With 97,000 US troops and 45,000 allied soldiers, the NATO-led force has concentrated on rolling back Taliban insurgents in towns and cities while training Afghan army and police.US commanders have tended to push for more time for combat operations and for delaying withdrawals of troops as much as possible, but some inside and outside the Pentagon are arguing for handing over to Afghan forces sooner while more NATO boots are still on the ground.MacKay suggested the NATO-led coalition was hoping to push the transition effort forward at a more rapid pace.MacKay and Panetta were speaking at the start of the Halifax International Security Forum, which gathers defense ministers from around the world.